Private job survey shows stronger job hiring

In this Jan. 11, 2013 photo, Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood speaks during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington, discussing a comprehensive review of Boeing 787 critical systems, including the design, manufacture and assembly. LaHood, the only Republican member of President Barack Obama's first-term Cabinet, says he plans to leave the Obama administration. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

ADVANCE FOR TUESDAY, JAN. 29 AND THEREAFTER - This photo taken Jan. 18, 2013 shows part-time home health care provider Debra Walker in her home in Houston. President Barack Obama thinks his health care law makes states an offer they can't refuse. Whether to expand Medicaid _the federal-state program for the poor and disabled_ could be the most important decision facing governors and legislatures this year. The repercussions go beyond their budgets, directly affecting the well-being of residents and the finances of critical hospitals. Awaiting decisions are people like Walker, a part-time home health care provider. She had a good job with health insurance until she got laid off in 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

ADVANCE FOR TUESDAY, JAN. 29 AND THEREAFTER - This photo taken Jan. 18, 2013 shows part-time home health care provider Debra Walker in her home in Houston. President Barack Obama thinks his health care law makes states an offer they can't refuse. Whether to expand Medicaid _the federal-state program for the poor and disabled_ could be the most important decision facing governors and legislatures this year. The repercussions go beyond their budgets, directly affecting the well-being of residents and the finances of critical hospitals. Awaiting decisions are people like Walker, a part-time home health care provider. She had a good job with health insurance until she got laid off in 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

ADVANCE FOR TUESDAY, JAN. 29 AND THEREAFTER - This photo taken Jan. 18, 2013 shows part-time home health care provider Debra Walker in her home in Houston. President Barack Obama thinks his health care law makes states an offer they can't refuse. Whether to expand Medicaid _the federal-state program for the poor and disabled_ could be the most important decision facing governors and legislatures this year. The repercussions go beyond their budgets, directly affecting the well-being of residents and the finances of critical hospitals. Awaiting decisions are people like Walker, a part-time home health care provider. She had a good job with health insurance until she got laid off in 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

FILE - In this July 13, 2012 file photo, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi speaks to reporters at the Presidential palace in Cairo. President Barack Obama begins his second term straining to maintain a good relationship with Egypt, an important U.S. ally whose president is a conservative Islamist walking a fine line between acting as a moderate peace broker and keeping his Muslim Brotherhood party happy with anti-American rhetoric. The White House last summer had hoped to smooth over some of the traditional tensions between Washington and the Brotherhood, a party rooted in opposition to Israel and the U.S., when Egypt overthrew dictator Hosni Mubarak and picked Morsi as its first democratically-elected leader. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)

A protester throws a tear gas canister back at riot police during clashes near Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Clashes continued for the fourth successive day between protesters and police near Tahrir square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising. Police used tear gas, while the protesters pelted them with rocks. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People carry the coffin of a man killed during a mass funeral in Port Said, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Tens of thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Port Said on Sunday for a funeral for most of the 37 people killed in rioting a day earlier, chanting slogans against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. (AP Photo)

In this Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, photo, Trader Jonathan Corpina, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Markets were steady Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013 ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's first policy statement of the year, which has the potential to indicate a shift in its monetary stance. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A private survey shows U.S. businesses increased hiring in January compared with a revised December reading.

Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that employers added 192,000 jobs in January. That is more than December's revised number of 185,000, which had initially been reported at 215,000.

The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. The increase in hiring occurred after Congress and the Obama administration reached an agreement on Jan. 1 to avoid sharp tax increases and across-the-board government spending cuts.

The ADP report showed that most of the gains came from small businesses with 49 or fewer employers. This group of firms added 115,000 jobs in January. Medium businesses, those with 50 to 499 employees, added 79,000 jobs during the month while large businesses cut 2,000 employees.

In a separate report Wednesday, the government said that the overall economy shrank from October through December at an annual rate of 0.1 percent. The weakness came from the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The 0.1 percent drop in the gross domestic product in the fourth quarter was a sharp slowdown from 3.1 percent growth in the July-September period.